More Than 750 Stallions Gelded with UHC's Operation Gelding

The Unwanted Horse Coalition’s (UHC) Operation Gelding program continues to help castrate stallions across the country. More than 750 stallions have been castrated in more than 60 clinics in 26 different states since the program’s inception in August 2010.

The program offers funding assistance to organizations, associations, and events that wish to conduct a public gelding clinic under the Operation Gelding name and guidelines. An organization that has completed an Operation Gelding clinic will receive funding of $50 per horse, $1,000 maximum, to aid in the costs associated with the clinic.

Operation Gelding is able to continue thanks to the support and seed money provided by the American Association of Equine Practitioners Foundation, Zoetis, and the UHC. Proceeds from the sale of "How to Start and Run a Rescue," by Jennifer Williams, PhD, also help fund the program. Books can be purchased on the UHC website.

Julie Settlage, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, and the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine held their first Operation Gelding clinic on April 13 in Blacksburg, Va., and were able to provide hands-on experience for 82 veterinary students and 14 faculty members while castrating 15 stallions.

“This service-learning event not only helps the horse owner and horses, but also helps build technical skills in veterinary students and opens their eyes to the real world,” said Settlage. “By castrating these horses, we are reducing the number of unwanted horses being born in the future and creating geldings that are easier to house and maintain, thereby making them easier to adopt.”

Under the guidance of Jennifer Boone, the Florida-based Santa Rosa County Horse Assistance Council (SRCHAC) hosted their third Operation Gelding clinic. Throughout the year, the SRCHAC offers low cost gelding, vaccination, and Coggins services to horse owners in northwest Florida.

Further north and with the help and skills of Tracy Turner, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, the Minnesota Horse Council’s gelding clinic castrated 22 horses in one day. The Minnesota Horse Council helped launch The Gelding Project, which is a grant program in Minnesota that offers vouchers to horse owners who cannot afford to geld their stallions.

Another UHC member, the Kentucky Equine Humane Center, was able to conduct their first clinic under the tutelage of executive director Karen Gustin.

Upcoming clinics will be held in Iowa and New Mexico.

Operation Gelding currently has limited funding available for organizations that would like to host their own clinic. For more information on how to host a clinic, contact Ericka Caslin, UHC director, at ecaslin@horsecouncil.org or 202/296-4031. Information can be found on the UHC website.

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